The Problem with Proxy Wars

With the Taliban’s rule disintegrating across Afghanistan, the United States must now confront the “principal agent” problem that has been in the background since the war on terrorism began. Principal agents rely on proxies to carry out their plans. Getting someone else to do your dirty work always causes trouble. You cannot be sure that proxies will do what you tell them to do, and you may end up with your own hands as dirty as theirs.